Do you believe God is going to give you the miracle you need? Do you believe Jesus is able to do the thing you’re asking Him to do? Remember, Romans 12:3 says God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. So every one of us has a measure of faith from God, and every one of us can do our part to develop our faith. In Matthew 9, we read about when Jesus touched the eyes of two blind men who had been following Him around, crying out for mercy. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said, “Yes, Lord.” Jesus touched their eyes, and then He said a remarkable thing: “According to your faith let it be to you” Matthew 9:27–29.
According to Your Faith
Now think about this. God has predestined you to be successful. I’m going to show you that in the Word of God. None of us is predestined to fail. We are predestined to be more than conquerors, but because of situations and circumstances and not understanding God’s Word, that faith you have sometimes becomes negative. It’s important that we understand that when Jesus said, “According to your positive faith be it done to you.” If you have negative faith and believe, for instance, that God has it in for you and is going to bless someone else and not you, then you’ll receive according to your negative faith.
God told Moses and the people of Israel that He had given them land. When the Israelites went to scout out the Promised Land, ten of the spies came back and said, “The land is beautiful and lush, but the people are strong, and the city is fortified, and we’ll die trying to claim it.”
And God said, “As I live…just as you have spoken in my hearing, so I will do to you” (Numbers 14:28). We live in a negative world. We’re around negative people all the time. But God says you are more than a conqueror, and you can walk in great faith. Don’t limit who God can do it for.
My Dog Story
Years ago, when Tiz and I and the kids were pastoring in Spokane, Washington, we lived near a guy who was breeding and training German shorthaired pointers. These dogs were selling for $8,000 to $10,000 apiece. At that time, we were making a hundred dollars a week as pastors—if we got paid at all. So I would just go out there and look at these dogs and watch the man train them because I love to be outside. Another guy told me about a friend of his who ran the Humane Society, and he said there was a German shorthaired pointer there. I went down there and looked at the dog. Then I bought it for fifteen dollars and took it to show the guy training German shorthaired pointers. When I arrived, there were a bunch of rich guys out there who had paid $8,000 to $10,000 for their dogs and were now having them trained for six months. I’d been watching this going on for some time. I pulled into the place, and my dog got out of the car and pointed by freezing its body. The breeder and trainer guy looked him over and said, “Where did you get this dog?” I said, “The Humane Society.” He said, “This is a top-of-the-line dog.” I didn’t pay $10,000; I paid fifteen dollars. Remember, nothing is too difficult for God. If you think my dog story is a good one, wait until you hear what God did for my son, Luke!
Another Dog Story
Back in those days in Spokane, we were pioneering a church, and we had a Wednesday night service in our home with thirty to fifty people coming every week. That’s not all. Tiz and I had two other families living with us and the kids. One was a Hispanic family we had taken in whose husband had abandoned her and their three kids. So we let her and her three kids live in the middle floor of our house. There also was an ex-drug addict whom we’d led to the Lord off the streets. She had a little boy and her disabled father, so we put them in the upstairs bedrooms to get them off the streets. All three families shared the house. Tiz, our kids, and I lived in the basement, with all four of us sleeping in one bed.
Our son, Luke, was four years old at the time, and he slept with his dog, Banjo. Luke loved that dog. Banjo went with him everywhere. Well, one Wednesday night when everyone was arriving for the service, somebody opened the door and Banjo ran out. I didn’t notice that Banjo was gone until one of the guys ran into the house and got me. He said, “Pastor, you’ve got to come here.” He took me into the garage, where Banjo was laying. He had been run over and dragged for a mile down the road before the driver stopped. I was out in the garage thinking, “Oh my goodness, this dog’s dead. Banjo’s not going to make it.” There was blood everywhere, and he was unconscious and barely breathing. Right away I said, “We’ve got to put this dog somewhere so Luke doesn’t see it.” All of a sudden Luke was there beside me, asking, “Dad, what happened to Banjo?” I said, “Well, Luke, Banjo got run over.” Luke said, “Dad, pray for Banjo. Pray for him.”
We did pray. We laid hands on Banjo, and that night everybody went to bed. I kept getting up all night to look in on Banjo because this great man of faith didn’t want Luke to see Banjo when he died. But Banjo kept living. He didn’t have blood coming out of his ears or nose; he actually looked like he had been crushed. So I had very little hope that he would survive. Don’t limit who God can do it for.
So, Luke woke up the next morning and said, “Daddy, is Banjo going to die?” I said, “Well, son, Banjo is really hurt.” Then Luke asked me, “Jesus won’t let him die, will He?” Oh, my! I said, “Luke, well…why don’t you pray for Banjo?” Let me tell you, I know animals, and this dog was all but gone. Luke laid his hands on the dog and said, “Jesus, I know you won’t let my Banjo die, that by your stripes, he’s healed.” I’m not exaggerating when I tell you Banjo jumped up and started running around. He ran all over the place, drank all of his water, ate his food, and wagged his tail—I’m not joking. I pulled out my wallet and I said, “Luke, pray for my wallet!”
God Can Do It for You
You may believe God healed Banjo when Luke prayed. You may believe God can do miraculous things. But you think He’ll do those things for other people and not for you. Understand that the devil doesn’t care if you believe God can work miracles. What he doesn’t want you to believe is that God will do it for you. The same God that did miracles for Luke’s dog, Banjo; Lion; and Tiz wants to do miracles for you! Remember the words of Jesus. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant, does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:12–15
Jesus is talking about covenant here. He is saying, “I don’t care if you’ve come from prison, the abortion clinic, drug rehab, Wall Street, or Washington, DC. I don’t care if you’re from college or the streets. No longer do I call you a servant, but now I call you a friend—if you obey the Lord.” What’s the difference between a servant and a friend? Jesus said a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing, but a friend is a confidant. You confide in a friend. Jesus reached a point in His relationship with His followers that when the Father spoke to Him, Jesus turned around and spoke that message to His disciples.
We did not choose Jesus; Jesus chose us. You may argue that God can’t use you for this reason or that, but God chose you— warts and all! God chose you to be born and walk with Him at this moment in history. He appointed you to bear fruit that will remain on the earth. Jesus realizes that we are going to have needs, so He promises, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).
God’s Love Is Personal
The devil will tell you God won’t do something miraculous in your life because you’re too young, you’re too old, you’re too male, you’re too female, you’re too this, you’re too that, you don’t have enough education, you have a bad past, you failed God before. The devil will always approach us with reasons God won’t do something for us. He tells us we don’t deserve it, but we do deserve it—not because of anything we’ve done but because Jesus made a covenant with His blood that no one can break. I know it may seem hokey, but I want you to say this out loud because faith comes by hearing: “I deserve it. I deserve to be blessed.”
The devil wants you to think you don’t deserve to be blessed. And on our own merit, we don’t. But through the merit of Jesus Christ, we do deserve it. Remember, Jesus made a covenant with His blood that no man and no devil can break. Jesus loves us, and because of His love, you and I deserve to be blessed. God can and will do the miraculous for you!
